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Nothing beats a perfectly done steak grilled straight from your backyard. The key to making the best steaks in the world is how you cook it. The steaks should be perfectly seasoned to fit your discriminating taste.

Steps

Choose a nice cut of steak from the butcher or local supermarket; cuts from the tenderloin or rib are best. Excellent cuts include T-bone, rib eye, club, porterhouse, N.Y. Strip, Chateaubriand, and filet mignon. Choose the best grade you can afford: In the USA, that is: Prime (best), Choice (very good), Select (average). Prime grade can be difficult to find, so call several butchers to locate. Be prepared to pay at least USD$15 to USD$25 per pound for Prime. Aged Prime is superior, but aged meats aren't for everyone.

Remove steak from refrigerator about 90 minutes before cooking. The steak should be at room temperature before it touches the grill.

Peel a clove of garlic and crush lightly to release juices.

Rub crushed garlic clove onto all sides of the steak.

Coat each side of the steak with fresh ground black pepper and salt. Gently press spices into the flesh.

For inexpensive cuts, squeeze the juice of half a lemon or lime on both sides of the steak. It may also be necessary to brush some corn or vegetable oil on the steak to prevent it from sticking to the grill. This will help tenderize the tougher steaks.

A marinade can help less tender cuts, such as flank. It can improve the taste and tenderize select grade steaks as well.

Do not marinate aged choice or prime beef, or you will ruin the steak!

Preheat gas grill on high for 10 to 20 minutes. If you pay close attention, you will not overcook your steak. Be prepared to douse flare-ups with water.

Grill steak on high for four minutes with lid closed. The key to a great steak is very high heat, so make sure your grill is on the highest setting possible.

Flip steak using tongs or spatula, do not use a fork as you will lose juices.

Grill on high for another four minutes with lid closed. Your steak will be about medium rare, depending on thickness.

Remove steak from grill and immediately place on a warmed platter.

Allow steak to rest for a full five minutes before cutting. This allows the juices and full flavors to develop.

Video

In this video from the Summer Kitchen, learn how to prepare a delicious Tuscan T-bone steak: an easy recipe you can make on the grill.

Alternate Method

Transfer beer into a bowl (big enough to contain the steak and marinade so that the marinade covers enough of the meat to tenderize it) and season it with chili powder.

Get half of the lime, squeeze some to the marinade sauce.

Soak the beef in the marinade for around 30 minutes inside a refrigerator.

Before setting it off to be grilled, give the steak a good rubbing of fresh ground pepper and salt.

Let the steak sit in a prepared sauce some 20 minutes or even as long as 6 hours. This would ensure that all the good flavors of the ingredients would be absorbed by the meat.

Tips

Keep some freshly prepared marinade on the side if you're going to apply while cooking - Never allow marinade that has come in contact with raw meat to be applied during cooking - it not only increases unhealthy bacteria, but also tends to destroy the flavor of a good cut of meat.

If you have a small brush, apply the extra marinade from dish to steak while cooking or brush your steak with your favorite HP or Teriyaki sauce while cooking.

How do you know when your steak is done? Here are some tips using a 1" cut of meat as an example...

Rare (all red in the middle) 120-125 degrees, feels roughly like the flesh between the thumb and the forefinger of a relaxed hand

Medium Rare (all pink in the middle - but only the middle!) 125-140 degrees

Medium / Medium Well (some pink in the middle/mostly gray) 145-155 degrees, feels roughly like the flesh between the thumb and the forefinger of a straightened hand

Well Done (no pink), >160 degrees, feels roughly like the flesh between the thumb and the forefinger of a clenched hand

Fool-proof method for getting perfect medium steaks: Leave the steak to cook on one side (do not touch!). When you see blood rising on the upper side turn over and cook the other side for almost as long as the first side.

In a shallow dish, mix the following:

1 cup of olive oil with 1/2 cup of soy sauce or teriyaki sauce

freshly ground pepper and salt to taste

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon of dijon mustard or chili sauce

spices (i.e. 1 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp cilantro)

1 tbsp brown sugar and beer to taste

Marinate the steak for at least 3 hours to a full 24 hours. Note: do not do this for tender cuts like rib eye.

Warnings

Do not overcook steak.

Optionally preheat for 5 minutes on high, all burners. Open grill and leave all burners on high! Add steak. Close grill lid. Cook on first side, depending on steak thickness and desired style (med rare, med, well) for 4 minutes, flip, and cook on the other side for 4 minutes.

Never, ever poke holes in your steak. It will lose valuable juices.

Things You'll Need

Steak - 100% Canadian "AAA" Beef if available, or USDA Prime or Choice U.S. beef or well trimmed Black Angus

FTC: Your Rights: Credit Reporting

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

A Warning About "Imposter" Sites

The FTC advises consumers who order their free annual credit reports online to be sure to correctly spell annualcreditreport.com, or link to it from the FTC's website to avoid being misdirected to other websites that offer supposedly free reports,but only with the purchase of other products. While consumers may be offered additional products or services while on the authorized website, they are not required to make a purchase to receive their free annual credit reports.

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Top 10 Consumer Complaints

According to the FTC, for the eighth year in a row, identity theft is the number one consumer complaint category. Of 813,899 total complaints received in 2007, 258,427, or 32 percent, were related to identity theft.

Consumers reported fraud losses totaling more than $1.2 billion; the median monetary loss per person was $349, the report states.